The point of protection

20 April 2009



RFID technology offers plenty of potential functionality in providing brand security, but it’s still some way off becoming the universal solution, reports Sam Cole


The jury’s been out so long on RFID that it might be supposed it had nodded off on the job without any likelihood of ever delivering a verdict. Great expectations rarely live up to their full potential, but that’s not to say the entire debate has been a waste of time, nor is indeed over. Far from it; for one thing, technology developers and systems manufacturers have poured too much effort and money into establishing a multi-purpose identification solution to not have it make its mark within the brand protection and security hierarchy. The question is not so much if it can be applied, but to what extent.

Just to summarise: RFID is essentially smart chip technology that enables a reader to communicate by wireless with a tag out of its sight line. Regardless of potential, its core capability is, and always has been, track and trace. Whilst that provides high level logistical security for goods in transit and inventory, it clearly doesn’t deliver as an overt stamp of authenticity. This mismatch in meeting requirements is the principle reason for RFID’s slow adoption across the overall supply chain – not because it’s necessarily too expensive, but because it’s over-qualified in terms of fitness for purpose.

Within a supply chain driven by retail pressure, having everything from a pencil to a pearl necklace RFID tagged is a very worthwhile option for reducing cost. That’s still a long way off though, says Atlantic Zeiser UK md Bob Lewin. The supermarkets would love to have no checkout time or operators. But would that ever happen - would you be looking to put a chip that cost a few cents on a pack of chewing gum? Unless absolutely everything was chipped, the system just couldn’t work.

“That said, however, if you think back to the introduction of the EAN bar code, there was initial resistance to the prospect of having to alter the packaging that is now the norm and with the benefits self-evident. The same would be true of chips if there was some way of incorporating them into the packaging cost-effectively.”

Latest technology

Whilst the market ponders its options, there’s plenty of production equipment from which to choose. With a web width of up to 610 mm, Mühlbauer’s TAL 2000 production line outputs 20,000 RFID-enabled inlays/hour and has the flexibility to cover a wide range of high frequency and UHF applications including labels, tickets and luggage tags, and for all types of chips ranging from 0.3 x 0.3 mm to 5.0 x 5.0 mm.

Bielomatik’s SmartOne T-250 servo-driven wet inlay and label attaching system is positioned as a low-cost point of entry 10 in web width system for self-adhesive and conventional RFID labels, capable of producing 60,000 insertions/hour.

Melzer’s recently introduced SL-600 converting line can also produce up to 60,000 RFID labels/hour. Additional systems within the SL range output at between 7,000 – 40,000 tags/hour.

Atlantic Zeiser’s Tagline system undertakes simultaneous high speed RFID encoding, inkjet marking and optical OCR / bar code verification and can output 40,000 HF tickets/hour.

In contrast to these dedicated RFID systems, UK based Edale has positioned its Lambda system as a customised multi-functional device enabling converters to switch in and out of RFID subject to customer requirements. Says md James Boughton: “Our concept is to provide a platform on which you can produce a range of applications, one of which may be RFID. Lambda effectively acts as a table onto which you can place any number or variety of different converting modules, including printing, cutting, laminating or inserting for RFID. The customer has the ability to choose any of these, and to reposition them 5 or 10 mm one way or the other into different sequences within the machine. It’s totally flexible and a very practicable alternative to investing shalf a million pounds just to produce a single application.”

Customer service

With brand protection, actual cost is driven by the capability of the overall solution and the level of security required. Vienna based Mondi Corrugated Packaging aims to make balancing the equation as painless as possible for its extensive customer base. “RFID was originally identified by the retail sector as having three different applications: pallet, case and the product itself,” observes RFID business development manager Reza Beglari.

“Pallet identification via RFID has been adopted to a great extent by certain retailers. Transit cases are set to be the next extension and, in my view, application to individual product packs will definitely follow in time. The technology will have to evolve further, but there are advances in the pipeline that will facilitate the volume production of cheaper tags.”

Mondi’s solution has been to integrate RFID tags within its corrugated packaging during the manufacturing process, she says. “We check every single RFID-enabled flat pack for proper operation before we ship to our customers, so they receive a solution that’s ready to use. The upside for them is that it takes away the need to invest in any special packaging and labelling equipment, and allows them to focus on value generation.”

Mondi introduced this facility last year and is marketing it as the ‘intelligent box’. “It will add a unit cost, but it also takes away any on-cost that customers might need to incur themselves. Typically, we would supply to an FMCG customer who would use the tag to be able to track and trace individual cartons once shipped. Of course, to do this they would need the appropriate RFID readers.”

Alternative solutions

As a viable option for meeting volume requirements, RFID tagging has already proved itself through its adoption at a personal level: examples include the Oyster card, and its usage on the Moscow metro system and, of course, the Beijing Olympics. Cost and common usage are the twin hurdles, however, that it must overcome in progressing towards a serve-all mechanism providing traceability and brand protection via primary packaging.

Equating cost of protection to cost of product is not always the determining factor, however, points out Bob Lewin. “The consequences of giving someone the wrong drug – even though the value of that drug might be pence – can be severe and incredibly expensive. Therefore, the cost incurred in protection far outweighs its actual production value. The likelihood of anyone ever wanting to be so thorough for something like a can of beans or a loaf of bread though is pretty remote.”

In the meantime, brand owners can draw from an extensive range of increasingly sophisticated lower-cost options, he adds. “On one side you’ve got overt: let’s say there’s a hologram or a number that the consumer can see and that serves as the mark of authenticity. Then there are covert solutions, for example, bar codes that are only visible under UV light; or smart inks that can only be read forensically.”

Keeping options open is the rationale underpinning Edale’s Lambda concept, says James Boughton. “From a brand protection point of view, probably the biggest group of machines we’ve supplied this year has been to converters producing holograms. These machines are no longer out of the box; we find ourselves integrating digital, scratch-off printing, graphics printing, hologram placement – all of which provide added value for the customer.

“The infrastructure you’ve got to put around RFID is a completely different ball game. In terms of brand protection, to my mind it’s only ever going to be a covert security. I think that holograms are great, and actually there’s not a great amount wrong with a bar code.”

Foiling the fakes

Hologram and foiling specialist Kurz’s Trustseal differs from other optically variable devices (OVD) in that it exhibits sharper image contrasts at a wider variety of viewing angles, making it easily recognisable even under dim or diffuse light. Latent Flip is an anti-counterfeiting element that exhibits a blue-green design when viewed at an extremely flat viewing angle, and transforms into a completely different design when rotated by 90 degrees.

Kurz also entered the RFID sector last year through the introduction of its 2D Secobo HF antenna measuring 76 x 45 mm for initial application within smart cards and tickets. Tullis Russell Coaters blends different layers containing invisible fibres, fluorescence, phosphorescence and infra-red reactive taggants to bring added overt and covert security to papers and films that makes counterfeiting virtually impossible, claims marketing manager Frances Darbyshire. It blends layers containing invisible fibres, fluorescence, phosphorescence and IR reactive taggants, and can even include chemical sensitisation to the surface of the sheet, which reveals any attempts at tampering. “It’s essential that our products are only used by bona fide suppliers, so we only sell our ‘trusecurity’ range to pre-qualified converters,” she adds.

Gathering pace is the application of invisible inks to provide reliable covert protection. For example, Sun Chemical’s Verigard system of taggants can only be detected by a dedicated reader; and Kodak’s Traceless forensically invisible authentication technology incorporates proprietary markers and handheld readers enabling customers to easily validate the authenticity of an item in transit and at retail level.

MSO Cleland is also moving into this area of brand protection through its M Solutions division with a similar invisible ink aimed at combating counterfeiting, confirms md Dominic Walsh. “It can’t be detected on the pack or under any light except when scanned by a special camera, and can be used to carry a password or a code of up to 24 digits. What makes it unique is the input from a software developer that enables the reader to track and trace the journey the product has taken – down to a single tablet – just from the bar code: where it was dispensed; what pharmacy it came from; who distributed it, and in what factory it was made.”


Kurz's TruSecurity Latent Flip Edale's Lambda System Kodak's Traceless Solution

External weblinks
Converting Today is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Atlantic Zeiser
Bielomatik
Edale
Kodak
MSOlutions
Kurz
Melzer
Mühlbauer
Mondi Corrugated Packaging
Sun Chemical
Tullis Russell Coaters

Kodak's Traceless Solution Kodak's Traceless Solution
Kurz's TruSecurity Kurz's TruSecurity
Edale's Lambda System Edale's Lambda System
Latent Flip Latent Flip


Privacy Policy
We have updated our privacy policy. In the latest update it explains what cookies are and how we use them on our site. To learn more about cookies and their benefits, please view our privacy policy. Please be aware that parts of this site will not function correctly if you disable cookies. By continuing to use this site, you consent to our use of cookies in accordance with our privacy policy unless you have disabled them.